“In his stead, Microsoft is appointing Julie Larson-Green, who led program management for Windows 7 and Windows 8, as head of Windows software and hardware engineering. Microsoft chief financial officer and chief marketing officer Tami Reller, who’s now one very busy lady, will take over the business side of Windows. Both will report to Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.”

TechCrunchLink: Google’s Nexus 4 Smartphone Sells Out in UK. Within Hours of Going on Sale; 32GB Nexus 10 Tablet Also Out of Stock
“Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) latest Nexus-branded hardware went on sale in Europe today. The Nexus 4 smartphone and Nexus 10 tablet were both due to be available today on the Play store, alongside the refreshed Nexus 7 tablet. But it appears that the newest Nexus hardware is selling out fast. Both versions of Nexus 4 are now listed as ‘coming soon’ on the Play Store in the UK, and the 32GB version of the Nexus 10 tablet is also apparently no longer in stock. (Update: The Nexus 4 sold out within minutes — judging by various tweets on the topic — although many users are also complaining Play Store errors prevented them from bagging their intended Nexus.)”

Insider MonkeyLink: Will Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. Kill the Text Message?
“Apple Inc. (NADSAQ:AAPL)introduced iMessaging with its iOS 5 platform last year, and in the time since, the software -- and other services like it -- have taken a bite out of the SMS text message market. According to well-respected mobile analyst Chetan Sharma, who reported the data on his personal website earlier today, text messaging activity in the US had declined for the first time in history, from an average of 696 texts per month in Q2 to 678 in the most recent quarter. Revenue was also down slightly in the third quarter.”

Business WeekLink: UK Lawmakers Accuse Starbucks, Amazon, Google of Tax Avoidance
“Executives from Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google Inc. came under attack from British lawmakers who accused the US companies of using complex accounting methods to reduce their tax liabilities in the UK.”

“Nokia Siemens posted record third quarter earnings in October because of deals to help build new high-speed wireless technology networks. That marked a most important turnaround for the joint venture that has hurt earnings at owners Nokia Corporation and Siemens since it was formed in 2007.”